During the three-month special action in cleaning up Internet service sites, such as Internet bar (or Internet cafe), Chinese public security departments have checked nearly 78,000 Internet bars, of which 14,400 were punished and 2,300 banned. Meanwhile, they have uncovered a batch of cases of criminal activities carried out by means of Internet bars.
Major problems existing in the management of Internet bars have been uncovered through clean-up and rectification conducted by public security organizations in various localities:
First, there is the outstanding phenomenon of unlicensed or illegal operation. The number of unlicensed and not fully licensed Internet bars exceeded 30 percent nationwide, the figure even surpassed 50 percent in individual places.
Second, some regions failed to effectively implement the safety management system and technology measures, there existed numerous safety loopholes.
Third, some Internet bars were operating with simple and crude equipment, their operational space and fire fighting facilities fell short of the specified requirements, as a result, there existed serious hidden peril.
In order to thoroughly solve the above-said problems, the Ministry of Public Security has called on various localities to do a better job in the re-registration of Internet bars, enforce strict safety examination and verification in accordance with related regulations, intensify supervision and management efforts and strengthen safety education among Internet employees. The said ministry stresses the need to ban the illegal Internet bars and crack down on criminal activities carried out by means of Internet bars.
(People's Daily 07/12/2001)
